UFC fans all said the same thing after learning of the latest development on Conor McGregor’s return.
The Notorious hasn’t set foot inside the octagon in over two years but is gearing up to make his eagerly-anticipated comeback against Michael Chandler.
Conor McGregor is set to be welcomed back to the octagon by Michael ChandlerTWITTER@THENOTORIOUSMMA
INSTAGRAM@THENOTORIOUSMMAThe Notorious was seemingly set to make his return at UFC 296 on December 16[/caption]
INSTAGRAM@THENOTORIOUSMMAUFC president Dana White has revealed the Irishman will likely be back ‘early next year’[/caption]
The UFC brass had hoped to have McGregor and Chandler, 35 and 37 respectively, throw down on their final pay-per-view card of the year on December 16.
But McGregor’s absence from the USADA drug testing pool, which he must be in for a minimum of six months before being eligible to compete, has seemingly delayed the fight.
During an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, UFC president and CEO Dana White revealed: “He is back in the gym, he’s training.
“And, yeah, I expect to see Conor fighting next year.”
MMA fans were quick to lament the delay to the return of the Mac, with one tweeting: “I thought he’s fighting Chandler this year?”
Another said: “Sucks.”
And another said: “Tffffff dude was supposed to fight IFW LMAO or August [or] September now next year lol.”
One remarked: “Guess Chandler won’t get that big money fight?”
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Another chimed in: “Only time will tell.”
McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the cage since breaking his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier two years ago.
Defeat to his fellow fan favourite was the Irishman‘s third in his last four octagon outings, with his last win coming back in Janaury 2020.
And White believes the former two-division champion’s millions in the bank have played a small part in his recent skid.
He said: “Here’s what happens, Piers, and you know this – I’m sure you’ve seen this with colleagues and friends and people that you know.
“Once a certain level of money is attained, to be the person that you were coming up, to be that hungry and work that hard and be that dedicated to the sport, or whatever craft it is you do, money changes everything.
“Conor McGregor has made that kind of money. It’s not a knock. It’s just a fact.
“When we sold the company in 2016, this was sort of a Microsoft of fighting.
“There were a lot of people that made a lot of money, and a lot of people left and they went and retired, or moved onto [different things].
“You have to have a certain type of drive to make that kind of money.
“And you’ve seen guys in this sport when they make that kind of money, they’ll fight a lot less like Conor has.
“Or they go on losing streaks because you are not that same person once you get that kind of money.”